Proposing Problems
by Charmed416
Summary: This is a must for all of you Cole lovers! You'll laugh, you'll cry... well, maybe not but you'll love it guaranteed! I cant tell you anymore though... I dont want to ruin it!! **NEW ENDING** due to the excessive demand... please R&R!!


Cole hesitantly peeked around the mausoleum doors and out into the dark cemetery. The coast looked clear. He knew he shouldn't risk going out in the open because almost every demon wanted him dead; the Source had out a bounty on his head ever since he double crossed them and started working with the Charmed ones instead of against them... Ever since he chose his 'Cole' personality over his 'Belthazar' one.   
'What you'd do for love,' Cole thought to himself. He had fallen for the youngest Charmed sister, Phoebe and had ultimately surpressed his demonic side for her.   
Cole maneuvered his way past all of the head stones and finally made his way to a small, hidden driveway of sorts deep in the cemetery. It was where he hid his car. Though the easiest way to travel for Cole was to shimmer, Cole had to take the car to visit Phoebe now because he didn't want to take any extra chances that some other demonic force would pick up on it.   
Soon Cole was pulling up in front of 1329 Prescott Street- The Halliwell Manor. He checked himself in the rear view mirror. He carefully placed his sunglasses (even though it was dark) meticulously on his head, positioning them until they were perfectly centered on his short, dark hair.   
He got out of the car and ran briskly up the steps. At the door, he adjusted his coat and tie- he was planning on taking Phoebe out to a very special dinner just outside of the city and giving her his special surprise. All of a sudden, Cole got the familiar flutter in his stomach that he always associated with seeing Phoebe. He smiled inwardly and tried to calm down his nerves before ringing the doorbell. Cole positioned the single red rose behind his back so that she wouldn't see it until exactly the right moment. He took another deep breath and rang the doorbell. He hoped she was home- this was supposed to be a total surprise but would only work if Phoebe was home, obviously. Suddenly his nerves and doubts ran rapid in his mind. He started to breath heavily and the 'butterflies' came back in full force. Thoughts such as, 'What if she isn't home? I mean, it is 8pm on a Saturday night!' and thousands of others filled his head. But he had to compose himself fast because he could hear someone twisting the lock back and forth (the Halliwell sisters never did take the time to learn and remember the right way to turn the lock; they always had to twist it at least 4 times before they could get it open). Cole felt his palms go sweaty. He licked his parched lips, getting ready. His dark eyes closed for a moment in an attempt to calm down yet again. The door opened and so did Cole's eyes.   
"Hey Cole," Piper said. Cole let out a small sigh of relief. Even though it wasn't Phoebe, Piper was the next pest person to answer the door. Though he still really hadn't gained the trust of Phoebe's two sisters, Piper was much more tolerant of him than Prue, the oldest and least trusting Halliwell sister.   
"Hey Piper," Cole stammered. He could hardly hear himself talk over the din of his pounding heart. "Is, uh Phoebe home by any chance?"   
"Sorry Cole, she's not. She had to go to some seminar for school. I think it should be over..." she glanced at her watch, "soon- like around a quarter after 8. So, giving her time to get home, I'd say she'd get here around 8:30 maybe."   
"oh, ok," Cole said, disappointed, but to himself thought, 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! You see Cole? You should have knew she wouldn't be home! Aaarrgg! You always do this! You'd think you'd learn Cole!' His thoughts were cut off by Piper.   
"Well, you can come in and wait for her if you want." Cole's eyes widened in surprise and gratitude, but his excitement quickly turned into disappointment again as he though of the predicament that would put him in.   
"Oh, well, thanks but-" What could he say without being rude? He was really thinking, 'but what about Prue? She'd telekinetically toss my ass out of here!' but, he couldn't say that... He stammered for a half-decent answer.   
Piper, somehow sensing his reason for hesitation, replied, "I'm the only one home. Well, Leo may orb in later, but that won't be in a while and Prue isn't supposed to be done with her shoot for another hour. Come on in!" and almost yanked him into the manor. She shut the door behind him, noticing the rose he still concealed in his white-knuckled fist behind his back. "Awww, that is so pretty!" she exclaimed.   
Cole jerked around, confused. "What?"   
"That rose you have a death grip on behind your back there," Piper laughed. Cole turned a unique shade of red, almost the same color as Belthazar's face.   
"Its for Phoebe," he stated daftly, but cringed inwardly as he reviewed the words that had just came out of his mouth in his head. 'Oh, slick move Cole,' he thought sarcastically to himself. Piper just laughed, sensing Cole's apprehension.   
"Aww, and I thought it was for me," she joked, but Cole didn't trust himself to reply- the last thing he wanted was to say another one of his seemingly stupid and nervous comments.   
Piper beckoned him into the living room and sat down, expecting him to do the same. Cole sat down stiffly on the chair opposite Piper, commanding himself to let go of the rose- which had since become his safety blanket since he got there. He reluctantly and what could be viewed as painfully complied and placed it lovingly on the coffee table.   
"So, Cole, what's up?" PIper asked, hoping to make some sort of small talk. Cole knew this was his chance to dot he honorable thing and ask Piper, but he kept thinking to himself, 'What if she says no?'   
Before he could get any more flustered than he already was, Cole began. "Well Piper," he said, his voice shaking a bit, "I'm glad we, uh, have this, uh, opportunity, uh, to..." but stopped himself. 'Opportunity?!' he asked himself. 'What the hell kind of thing to say was that, you idiot?!'   
"Cole?!" Piper said, jarring Cole out of his self-reprimand mode. "What are you trying to say?" she asked politely.   
"Ok Piper, um, well, I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous." Cole could feel his face flush and his ears grow hot. 'Just hurry up and get it over with,' he commanded himself. "Ok, what I am trying to unsuccessfully say is that I am glad that Phoebe isn't home right now because it gives me a chance to ask you something very important," he said in one breath. He took a quick gasp of air in anticipation for his next long-winded speech, but Piper stopped him with a smile.   
"Well, whatever it is, I think breathing is more important."   
Cole let himself smile. 'Maybe I don't have to worry as much,' he thought to himself. he took an exaggerated, deep breath. "Ahh, yes, I do see the advantages of breathing now. Anyways," he continued, being again serious, "I have really been thinking a lot and I have made a decision. I was originally going to ask Phoebe this without consulting you, but I think based on our history together, I think you and Prue have as much of a right to answer as Phoebe." Cole paused.   
"Well, ask the question already!" Piper teased, but she knew that it wasn't really a joking matter. She watched Cole take another deep breath to steady himself and his constantly shaking voice.   
"Well, I love Phoebe very much even though I do have odd ways of showing it," he tried to joke, referring to the whole 'trying to kill them' bit. "And I want to ask you (he took a deep breath) if I can have your blessing in asking Phoebe to marry me?" Cole watched Piper's reaction with a mix of fear and anticipation. It all rested on this single first impression. A thousand different ways to rephrase the question, most of them much better, ran through his head, but he diligently kept watch. His hands grew even more sweaty and his heart fluttered faster and faster.   
He watched Piper's expression falter, her hesitation as she opened her mouth. nothing came out. Cole knew he had lost. Trying to hide his utter despair, he said, "Ok, I get it. I'm sorry for imposing like that-"   
"No, no," Piper interrupted. "I had a feeling you were going to ask something like that. It's my fault I was flustered. I guess I just thought you were going to ask me if I thought she would say yes; not if you could ask her." Piper stopped, trying to choose the right words. Cole had never been so nervous in his life! He had to say something.   
"Well, if you don't think I should, I will honor your wishes until I can prove to you that I ca-"   
"Let me just say that I am not the one you need to convince," Piper said with an awkward smile.   
Cole sighed and put his head in his hands. He had won in a way, but lost miserably in an other. "Yeah, well, that will never happen," he replied but almost blew up at himself on the inside right after he said it. 'Oh, good job Cole,' he screamed at himself, 'It's her sister you're talking about! You finally had one of them on your side and then you had to go and blow it!'   
"Yeah, I know, but Prue's mostly talk," Piper sympathized. Cole jerked his head up to see Piper smirk. Did he just gain an ally?   
"I hate to ask, but what do you think I should do?" he asked.   
"Well, I think you should maybe wait a bit before asking Prue," Piper started.   
"'Before asking Prue what?" came a voice. It belonged to Prue and Cole thought he would choke. He stood up, though almost fell over. Piper watched, her face a mix of dread and amusement.   
"Oh, Prue, uh, hi. How are you??" Cole stuttered. Prue looked at him with her eyebrow cocked.   
"Ok I guess," Prue said slowly back, still eyeing him suspiciously. She turned to Piper. "What were you guys talking about?" she asked. Cole looked at Piper in desperation. She nodded him an encouragement, but he kept thinking, 'Oh, great job Cole. At this rate you'll never be with Phoebe again!'   
"Well, Cole here has something to ask you," Piper said and again nodded to Cole. His heart dropped to the floor. He had no chance now.   
Suddenly, Cole's body went rigid and time for him stopped. Piper had frozen him. "Prue, you've got to promise to be nice," Piper began. "He is really nervous and definitely intimidated by you."   
"As he should be," Prue responded. Piper rolled her eyes.   
"I'm serious Prue. Give the guy a break."   
"Do you know what he is going to say?"   
"Yeah," Piper responded. "And I know you might not like what it is, but you have to give him some credit for going about it this way."   
"Go about what?" Prue asked, trying to get some implication of what Cole was going to say. Piper just responded by unfreezing Cole. Prue gave her a dirty look while Cole suffered with disorientation from being frozen.   
"Ok Cole, what do you want to ask?" Prue asked, crossing her arms. Cole's stomach twisted and his heart roared in his ears.   
Before he knew what he was doing, he answered, "I want to ask your permission to ask Phoebe to marry me." His face looked almost as shocked as Prue's. Piper help back a nervous snicker.   
"Oh, well, that was definitely not what I expected," Prue stammered. "I don't know what to say."   
Cole looked at her, pleading her with his eyes. He knew he couldn't say anything to change her mind now. He nodded his head reluctantly.   
"I'm sorry to have asked. Forget about it Prue," he said, retreated in disappointment.   
"Cole. Don't just give up. That won't change my mind about your love for her. The more you fight, the more likely I'd believe your intentions."   
Cole stared at her wide eyed. Was she serious? Could he actually have a chance? But instead of trying to logically get his way through this, Cole let his heart talk.   
"Prue, I would do anything for Phoebe, and because of that I would do anything for you too. I know the three of you have a relationship that should and will take priority over any other, even though my love is almost as strong as yours for her. Because of that, I know it is only right to make sure this is ok with you. I would totally forget about this for now if you think marriage with Phoebe jeopardize the power of three, or your relationships for that matter. No matter what you decide, though, I will always love your sister and will never revert back to Belthazar in honor of you all. But, please Prue, let me ask Phoebe!" Cole blinked back a tear and averted his eyes toward Piper and Prue.   
Prue and Piper were both staring at him wide eyed. What happened to the cocky demon they all knew and... hated? No, it wasn't hate any more. Suddenly, the front door opened and closed. Phoebe was home. She took in the scene with confusion.   
"Hey," she said with skepticism, "What's going on here? You guys have a party and not invite me or something?" She looked at Cole and immediately knew something was wrong with him. She walked over to him. "Cole, honey, what's wrong?"   
Cole tried to compose himself and looked up to face her. His breath caught in his throat and his stomach fluttered. "Oh, nothing. I just came over to see if you wanted to go to dinner."   
"Oh, ok, let me get ready!" Phoebe exclaimed and ran upstairs for about 10 minutes. Those 10 minutes, however, were filled with a deafening silence as Cole, Piper, and Prue sat there, still trying to comprehend what it all meant. Phoebe came bounding back down the stairs wearing a stunning black strapless dress. She and Cole walked to the door. Still, no one said anything.   
"Well, I guess we'd better go," Phoebe said, still noticing the uneasiness. She and Cole stepped out into the cool night and Prue went to go shut the door behind them. Cole turned to Phoebe as they neared the car.   
"Hey, go ahead and wait in the car, ok? I have to get something I forgot." Phoebe nodded and complied. Cole turned around and knocked on the door. Prue opened it again and stared at him.   
"What?" she asked , irritated. He looked past her and saw Piper inching toward the door behind Prue.   
"Have you decided what you were going to do?" Piper asked. Cole only nodded a reply. He slowly reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box that could only contain a ring. He handed it to Prue.   
"Here. Give this back when... if you are ready," he said softly and turned to walk back to the car. Prue looked at Piper in disbelief.   
"Cole, wait," she called. Cole slowly turned around. She handed him back the box with a smile. "You can have this back now, but you have to promise we get to watch you ask!"   
Cole's eyes widened in excitement and pure ecstasy, and his smile couldn't even compare to the happiness that was bursting from him. He nodded earnestly. "Ok, then you had better come down to the car with me because I don't think I can wait anymore!" He almost skipped all the way down the steps to the car with Piper and Prue close behind.   
Phoebe looked up from her seat in the car and saw Cole and her sisters skipping down the steps. "Ok you guys, first it is like I am stepping into World War Three and now its like I stepped into a scene from Sesame Street. What the hell is going on?!"   
Cole's face lit up even more, something he thought couldn't possibly happen. He ran up to the car and looked over his shoulder- Prue and Piper were right behind him with smiles as big as his on their faces. He turned back to Phoebe and opened her car door so she could get out. After looking at them all weirdly again, Phoebe stepped out of the car and smoothed down her skirt. "Ok good, now move over there," Cole instructed and pointed to the patch of grass on the bottom of the hill in front of the manor. Phoebe complied. Then Cole turned to Piper and Prue. "Where do you guys want to stand?"   
"Cole! Just get on with it!" Piper laughed.   
Cole smiled, but Phoebe was getting annoyed. "What the hell is going on?!" Cole responded by kneeling on the sidewalk in front of her. She was taken aback, both knowing and not knowing what was about to happen.   
"Phoebe," Cole began, "I love you so much. I am warning you now, I am as nervous as hell, no pun intended, and I will probably screw this up... But that is what I love about you, Phoebe; If I screw up, and we all know I have many times, you continue to love me for who I am, not what I do. You have given me the best gift of all- humanity. I know that I will forever be in debt to you, but I want a chance to help make some of it better. In the past few weeks, I have struggled with myself and who I am. But now I realize that I am everything when I am with you. Now, I cannot even fathom living without you, or your sisters. And, because of that, I want to ask you something." He took her hand in his and pulled out the ring. Phoebe gasped in spite of herself. Cole's heart pounded in his ears and he thought he was going to pass out, but he did not take his eyes off her. He didn't even think the words before they echoed out of his mouth. "Phoebe, will you marry me?"   
Phoebe gasped again. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her heart screamed yes, but her head kept thinking of her sisters. Her voice faltered and she looked at Piper, begging her with her eyes, hoping her sister would understand what the stare was for. Piper did. She rose her hands in the air and froze Cole, who's face had started to fall at Phoebe's reaction.   
"What the hell did you want me to freeze him for? Isn't this what you wanted?" Piper asked.   
"Yes, desperately. But I don't want to do this if it means it will effect us. I want your blessing before I say yes," Phoebe commanded. PIper and Prue stood there, dumbfounded, and then burst out laughing. "What?!" Phoebe pouted.   
"My God, Phoebe, you and your soon to be fianc‚ do think alike!" Prue laughed, grabbing her side.   
"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked.   
"Well, that's what you walked into up there a second ago- Cole had just asked us if it was ok for him to even ask you!" Piper answered.   
"And you said 'yes'?"   
"Of course!" Prue responded. Phoebe jumped up and down and grabbed her sisters in a big bear hug, squealing like a little girl. In the rush, Piper accidentally unfroze Cole. He looked around confused. Prue was the first to see he had unfrozen.   
"Sorry Cole," she said sheepishly. Phoebe jerked around and saw him start to get off the ground and tackled him before he could get all the way up.   
"YES!" she screamed. They began to kiss passionately and wouldn't stop. Finally, Prue and Piper got tired of watching the two after about 5 minutes and told them they were going in. Neither Phoebe or Cole paid any attention to them. Piper and Prue went in and when they awoke the next morning, Cole and Phoebe were still on the lawn, asleep in each other's arms...   
The End  
  
  
  



End file.
